The disclosure relates to wire connectors. More particularly, the disclosure relates to non-conductive copper wire splice connectors.
Wire conductor cable is typically manufactured from copper material. The copper wire is covered with an insulating cover or insulating jacket. The insulating jacket is applied to the copper wire through various methods. One such method is a continuous jacket extrusion method. Copper wire is provided in certain lengths, such as in lengths of several hundred feet. The lengths of copper wire are fed into machinery which carries the strand of copper wire through various extrusion equipment. It is most beneficial for the extrusion coating process to operate in a continuous mode with as few interruptions in the process as possible. As a first section of wire is processed and coated a second length of wire is fed into the machine and spliced to the trailing end of the first section of wire. The lengths of conductor wire are spliced together with a copper butt splice. A conventional sleeve of cylindrical shape is fitted over the ends of the two lengths to be spliced and crimped or otherwise crushed down onto the conductor wire ends in order to hold the two wire lengths together. The splice diameter has physical size limitations. The splice must not be larger in diameter than the conductor wire. This requirement is paramount for larger sizes. The purpose of limiting the splice diameter is so that the splice will run through the extrusion head and fit within the spindle grooves of the processing equipment. Splices are installed on a stationary bench, where the wire cable is held motionless. The process machinery includes accumulators that allow for the wire to be held motionless for several minutes in order to facilitate the splice installation.
The wire splice is marked or tagged to indicate the location of the splice. The splice tag is done during the processing between extrusion and the continuous vulcanization (CV) steps. The purpose of marking the splice location is to facilitate removing the splice after the CV pass of the process. The process equipment operator performs a calculation of exactly when the splice will exit the CV step of processing. The operator will manually locate the splice and remove it. It is essential to remove the splice before the coated conductor is shipped. However, in certain instances, the splice is not removed before shipment. The splice is overlooked and remains in the length of coated conductor. Since the splice is a conductive member of the wire lengths, the splice is not detected in normal conductor testing. Having the conductive splice ship to the customer has very negative consequences. The function of the coated copper conductor is compromised. The reputation of the manufacturer is also irreparably damaged.
The machinery used at some facilities is the same for all sizes of wire. In order to maintain a straight smooth pass of wire through the equipment, in-line cable tension is maintained. For example, for a 535 DLO line, 1,100 pounds of in-line tension is required. In another example, for a 777 DLO about 1,500 pounds of in-line tension is required. Smaller sizes of wire require less tension, such as a few hundred pounds for a #6 wire. In another example, a 2,000 mcm Class B wire is likely to have 3,000 pounds of in-line tension. The splice must also withstand these high process mechanical tension limits. It is important that the splice maintains its mechanical integrity during processing. If for example, a splice is not properly installed, and a mechanical failure results, the splice can be pulled apart inside the CV tube. The result will be a process line stoppage. The process machine will have to be cleared and then restarted. It can result in unwanted costly process down-time. Hours of process time can be lost in clearing the defective splice and restarting the process machinery.
There exists in the art of coated wire conductor a need to have a device that can splice wire lengths during continuous jacket extrusion processing with the capacity to maintain structural integrity while having properties that allow for reliable detection to facilitate removal of the splice before shipping to a customer.
For a more thorough description of the wire coating process the material of the book titled Extrusion: The Definitive Processing Guide and Handbook by Harold F. Giles, Jr., John R. Wagner, Jr., and Eldridge M. Mount, published by Elsevier 2008, with ISBN 978-1-4377-3481-2 is incorporated-by-reference herein.